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Liverpool are well down the line in their hunt for the Premier League title and could look to back up their impressive season by producing an exciting summer transfer window.

Liverpool's competitiveness on all fronts set to entice new arrivals

Liverpool managed to ride the storm against Paris Saint-Germain and performed a smash and grab late on to ensure they took a 1-0 lead over the Ligue 1 champions back to Anfield for the second-leg of their Champions League Round of 16 affair.

Harvey Elliott popped up late on to spark jubilant scenes in the away end – Arne Slot’s side showed a different side to their game in the French capital, which has bred optimism that they could go on to claim a sixth crown in Europe’s premier competition.

With the Premier League and Carabao Cup firmly in sight, the Reds are one of the most attractive destinations worldwide for potential new arrivals come the summer. Despite their immediate priority being silverware, plenty of work is going on behind the scenes as the Merseyside giants aim to build on their recent success.

Bournemouth star Milos Kerkez has recently emerged as a Liverpool target following his brilliant form on the south coast this season. If circumstances align, Kostas Tsimikas could depart to make way for the Hungary international.

Liverpool’s top scorers across all competitions

Mohamed Salah

30

Cody Gakpo

16

Luis Diaz

13

Diogo Jota

8

Dominik Szoboszlai

7

Furthermore, contact has been made with Alexander Isak’s representatives over a move to Anfield. Darwin Nunez has cut an unconvincing figure through the middle, heightening the need for attacking reinforcements.

Speculation surrounding incomings at Liverpool is starting to escalate as the season reaches its business end, and the Reds have now made contact over an energetic figure who could add extra steel in the engine room.

Liverpool make contact over Atalanta midfielder Ederson

According to CaughtOffside, Liverpool have registered their interest in Atalanta midfielder Ederson, making contact to find out his situation with the Europa League holders. The outlet state that the Brazil international remains a long-term priority target for Manchester City and specify that a fee in the region of £50 million may be enough to secure his signature this summer.

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Manchester United may also enter the race to replenish their ageing midfield. Labelled “versatile” by Tim Vickery, Liverpool have previously scouted Ederson, who has registered four goals and two assists in 39 appearances this season for Atalanta.

Famed for his tenacity, the 25-year-old has won 132 duels and made 142 recoveries in Serie A across 2024/25. On the creativity front, he has also fashioned 23 chances alongside recording a pass accuracy rate of 87.8%.

Liverpool wants to establish themselves as the dominant force in English football for years to come, so it makes sense to try to pip their rivals where possible to ensure quality reinforcements arrive at Anfield ahead of next season.

MatériaMais Notícias

da dobrowin： Árbitro do clássico disputado entre Botafogo x Flamengo em Brasília, Tarcizo Pinheiro Caetano relatou as expulsões dos jogadores Joel Carli, Tiquinho Soares e Marçalna súmula.Os atletas foram expulsos no segundo tempo da partida e serão desfalques da equipe alvinegra na próxima rodada do Campeonato Carioca.

JOEL CARLI

– Expulsei aos 68 minutos de jogo, o atleta de número 3 da SAF Botafogo, os Sr Mauro Joel Carli, após receber o segundo cartão amarelo e se levantar-se do banco de reservas e se direcionar-se até a linha lateral de frente para este banco e protestar contra as tomadas de decisão da arbitragem com gestos e dizendo as seguintes palavras: “Isto é uma brincadeira, vocês só podem estar de sacanagem, isto é uma sacanagem!”. Após receber o cartão vermelho, o atleta deixou o seu banco de reservas e se direcionou para fora dos arredores do estádio sem problemas.

+ Com Marcelo no Fluminense, Brasileirão chega a 23 jogadores que já disputaram Copa do Mundo

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da luck： +Luís Castro critica presença da polícia em campo e pede controle emocional ao Botafogo

TIQUINHO SOARES

– Expulsei aos 87 minutos de jogo, o atleta de número 9 da equipe SAF Botafogo, o Sr Francisco das Chagas Soares dos Santos, após receber o segundo cartão amarelo próximo a linha de meio campo por protestar contra as decisões da arbitragem com gestos e dizendo as seguintes palavras: “Foi falta, p***. Só você não viu, p***. Você está de sacanagem!”. Digo também que após receber o cartão vermelho, em ato contínuo, o referido atleta me atingiu com uma “cabeçada” em meu nariz e profere as seguintes palavras face a face: “Vai tomar no seu c*, seu m*** do cara****”, me sentindo ofendido na minha honra e moral. Após dizer estas palavras, o atleta deixou o campo de jogo. Cabe ressaltar que o árbitro não necessitou de atendimento médico e continuou na partida normalmente.

MARÇAL

– Expulsei aos 90+3 minutos de jogo o atleta de número 21 da equipe SAF Botafogo, o Sr Fernando Marçal de Oliveira com uso de cartão vermelho de maneira direta próximo a linha de meio campo, após ofender o árbitro da partida utilizando as seguintes palavras face a face com o referido árbitro: “Vai tomar no c*! Você é vagabundo, vai tomar no seu c*”, me sentindo ofendido na minha honra e moral. Após o receber o cartão vermelho, o jogador deixou o campo de jogo e já do lado de fora do campo de jogo, chutou um microfone que se encontrava próximo a descida para o túnel de acesso aos vestiários.

Do trio de expulsos alvinegros, Tiquinho Soares é o jogador com mais chances de acabar levando uma punição pesada do TJD-RJ. O atacante foi acusado pelo árbitro de atingi-lo com uma “cabeçada no nariz” e pode pegar mais de um jogo de suspensão.

Com expulsões, confusões e invasões no gramado, Botafogo acabou sendo derrotado pelo Flamengo por 1 a 0 em Brasília. O time de Luís Castro volta para campo na próxima quinta-feira, diante do Sergipe, fora de casa, às 20h, pela primeira fase da Copa do Brasil.

It’s fair to say tonight’s Championship contest between Leeds United and Sheffield United is a hotly anticipated one, as the second tier’s top two do battle at Bramall Lane.

The Blades could well topple the Whites off their perch at the top of the division with a special win, with South Yorkshire also winning itself bragging rights in the process.

Of course, Chris Wilder’s men might find Leeds too difficult of a team to break down, on the contrary, with Daniel Farke and Co potentially five points clear at the summit come full-time.

It will be a fascinating match to take in, with the 57-year-old left with many a selection dilemma too ahead of Leeds’ visit as various injured personnel could be back fit and ready to go.

Sheffield United's selection dilemmas

One face that could be back in contention for this second-tier humdinger is Tom Cannon with the nine-goal striker in the Championship this season nowhere to be seen last time out versus Luton Town owing to injury.

Now, however, he could be fast-tracked back into the first team fold to try and catch a staunch Leeds defence cold, with the ex-Stoke City loanee yet to get off the mark in his new surroundings after a potent stint at the Potters.

It would be quite the dramatic stage for Cannon to start to recapture his Stoke best, with Wilder also potentially boosted by experienced head Kieffer Moore being back fit as another body he can call upon up top.

Amazingly, the Welshman has never scored against Leeds from nine career contests, but unwanted records like that are made to be broken, with the ex-Cardiff City man on five strikes for the season when fit.

But, away from the two named strikers, there is another figure who could make a timely return from the treatment room that would really hurt Leeds, having previously been on their radar as a transfer target.

The Sheffield United star who could really hurt Leeds

Leeds have definitely kept a keen eye on proceedings at Bramall Lane in recent years when it comes to their incoming transfer business, with Jayden Bogle poached from South Yorkshire last summer to defect over to Elland Road.

In the same window, Farke and Co were allegedly interested in snapping up second-tier star Gustavo Hamer, but no such deal came to be, leaving the high-flying Blades with a top talent for the level.

The table-toppers eventually landed Manor Solomon’s signature, who has taken to life in the Championship swimmingly with seven strikes and seven assists in league action, but Hamer feels as if he would’ve been a sterling buy long-term for the Whites especially if promotion is reached.

Indeed, the 27-year-old managed to tally up an impressive four goals and six assists across 36 Premier League appearances last season for Wilder’s men – even as a rock-bottom finish was confirmed in the top-flight – on top of the fact he is only two goal contributions off Solomon in the here and now.

1. Joel Piroe

33

14

6

2. Daniel James

27

10

6

3. Manor Solomon

26

7

7

4. Brenden Aaronson

33

8

2

5. Wilfried Gnonto

30

5

5

Amazingly, his seven goals and five assists would place him among Leeds’ top five performers if he had entered the building, with Farke’s men even more of a terrifying prospect potentially if Hamer was thrown into the side down the left or as an attack-oriented body centrally.

Hamer could have the last laugh later on, however, if he is fit enough to start, as the “beautiful” Blades ace – as he’s been heralded in the past by football journalist Josh Bunting – goes about delivering a reality check to the league leaders

Traded for Burke: 2020 sale is now outscoring every Sheffield United player

Sheffield United dropped a clanger when losing this star.

ByKelan Sarson Feb 23, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

da poker： O Vasco anunciou a retomada de patrocínio com a Brahma. A parceria, que começou em 2010, prevê uma série de ações para os torcedores. Uma delas envolve o aplicativo de bebidas, Zé Delivery. O CEO Luiz Mello celebrou o novo contrato.

+ Confira as movimentações do Vasco no Mercado da Bola

– O Vasco está feliz em renovar essa parceria com a Brahma. A Brahma era uma parceira antiga do Vasco e depois de muitas conversas entendemos a importância de um para o outro e que deveríamos caminhar juntos. Quanto mais parceiros importantes vierem ser acoplados ao Vasco, maior vai ser nossa marca e mais pessoas conseguiremos atender.

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da fazobetai： A parceria é oficializada seis meses depois do Vasco anunciar que o contrato de patrocínio com a Brahma não seria renovado. No comunicado da época, o clube informou que a decisão foi da empresa.

“O Vasco da Gama vem a público agradecer à Ambev pela parceria que chega ao seu final. Por decisão da empresa, o contrato com o clube não será renovado. O Vasco agradece pela longa e frutífera união e deseja sucesso à Ambev em seus novos projetos.”

O gerente de marketing regional da Ambev, Gustavo Monteiro, explicou os motivos que fizeram a empresa retomar o patrocínio com o Vasco.

– A Brahma sempre investiu nas paixões que unem os brasileiros, como é o caso do futebol. Nossa parceria com o Vasco vem de longa data e agora iniciamos um novo ciclo. Temos certeza que nesse ano, junto com os vascaínos, continuaremos a escrever uma história de sucesso.

Erik ten Hag’s time at Manchester United ended in disaster. The Red Devils might have won two trophies under the Dutchman, but his below-par performances in the league eventually led to his dismissal in October.

United’s poor efforts under their former boss were not through a lack of backing in the transfer market. The Old Trafford club reportedly spent more than £600m under their former manager.

He looked to recruit players familiar to him and his system, signing plenty of his former Ajax players, and not all of them were hits. The best example of that is winger Antony.

On United’s 2024 summer additions, the jury is still out. One of their marquee additions has been Matthijs de Ligt.

De Ligt’s United career so far

The Red Devils signed Dutch international De Ligt from Bayern Munich in the summer for a fee of £42.7m including add-ons. He joined in a double deal alongside another former Ajax player, Noussair Mazraoui.

Despite the change of manager at Old Trafford this season, the experienced centre-back has been an important player for United. He has made 22 appearances in the Premier League, where he scored his only goal away to Southampton, and six in the Europa League.

Former United defender Wes Brown, a product of the club’s academy, backed the 25-year-old to succeed under new boss Ruben Amorim. He claimed back in December that he “can be an elite defender” and will “find his rhythm” under the Portuguese manager.

He has indeed been important under the tutelage of Amorim so far. De Ligt has featured in all but two of United’s games with Amorim at the helm so far, and it does not seem likely that he will become any less important in the coming months.

The Red Devils actually sold someone once compared to De Ligt, which could have meant they never signed the Dutchman. However, things did not quite work out for this player.

The defender who Man United sold

The player in question here is academy graduate Teden Mengi. The Manchester-born centre-back seemed like he had a big future at Old Trafford, but never managed to break into the first team.

He was a prominent player in the Red Devils academy, featuring for the under-18s, under-19s, and under-21s a combined total of 83 times. He was also the captain of various academy sides on multiple occasions.

Former United manager and club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer once described the centre-back as “something special”, and compared him to De Ligt. He explained that just as Ten Hag put his trust in De Ligt as a youngster at Ajax, there was potential for Mengi to experience the same thing at United. Like United’s number four, Solskjaer said Mengi was “ready” for the challenge.

Sadly for the former England under-21 international, he never made it at United. He made just two first-team appearances for his boyhood club, both substitute appearances in European competitions.

After loan spells at Derby County and Birmingham City, the defender moved to Luton Town on a permanent deal in 2023, leaving United after years spent at the club and being ruthlessly sold by Ten Hag. He has since gone on to make 50 appearances for the Hatters and is valued at around £8.3m via Transfermarkt, up from £1.7m when he left the club..

Even though he has departed Old Trafford, Mengi has impressed at the highest level, thriving for Luton in the top flight last term. It was a difficult campaign for the team, who got relegated, but the defender impressed. As per Sofascore, he averaged 4.2 ball recoveries per game and won 58% of his aerial duels.

Games

30

Pass accuracy

78%

Tackles and interceptions per game

3.7

Ball recoveries per game

4.2

Clearances per game

4.5

Ground duel win rate

57%

Aerial duel win rate

58%

It is a shame that things did not work out for Mengi at Old Trafford, the club where he spent such a long time. However, he has certainly gone on to have a good start to his career away from United.

Had things gone differently, the Red Devils might never have needed to sign De Ligt and could have had another academy star thriving in his role.

Saved by Zirkzee & Maguire: 3/10 Man Utd star must be axed after Leicester

The Man Utd man had fewer touches than Onana in the win over Leicester.

ByJoe Nuttall Feb 8, 2025

Black Caps quick returns after stint last summer was cut short following his wife’s cancer diagnosis

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2025

Blair Tickner will return to Derbyshire for the 2025 season on an all-format deal.The New Zealand fast bowler played seven matches for the county last summer across the Vitality County Championship and Vitality Blast, before returning home early after his wife Sarah was diagnosed with leukemia.Now with Sarah on the road to recovery, Tickner returns to Derby for the duration of the season, subject to international commitments. He has represented the Black Caps on 34 occasions, and made his Test debut against England in 2023.Tickner, 31, is currently enjoying a fine domestic summer in New Zealand and is among the leading wicket-takers in the country with 13 dismissals in the Plunket Shield (first-class), 11 in the Ford Trophy (List A) and nine in the Super Smash (T20) so far.Derbyshire’s head of cricket, Mickey Arthur, said: “We never got to see the best of Blair in his first spell with us, there was a lot going on off the field, but he was the consummate professional and we were always eager to bring him back for 2025.”His record deserved to be better last season, we dropped chances off his bowling and if we take those, his average comes right down. I’m confident we will be better in that regard in 2025, and Blair should reap the rewards, because he’s a very good bowler.”With the likes of Zak Chappell, Harry Moore, Pat Brown and Blair all vying to take the new ball, I’m very excited about our attack in 2025.”Tickner added: “Despite everything, I loved my first spell with Derbyshire and I’ve kept in touch with the players and coaches, the club have supported me massively and I’m looking forward to getting back to England and showing what I can do.”I think everyone would agree that I have unfinished business with Derbyshire, I couldn’t show my quality first time around and I’m coming back hungry to do just that and win games for the county.”Agar back at NorthantsAshton Agar was part of the Northants side that reached last year’s Blast quarter-finals•Andy Kearns/Getty Images

Northamptonshire, meanwhile, have confirmed that Australia allrounder Ashton Agar will be back for the entire Blast group stage in 2025. Agar made six appearances in the competition last season, helping Northants to reach the quarter-finals.Northants chief executive, Ray Payne, said: “Ashton is a brilliant individual who played a very important role in our good form at the backend of the T20 Blast last year. He is highly skilled, very experienced and has had success at the very highest level of the game.”We’re all very excited to him again in a Steelbacks shirt in 2025.”

A lack of bench strength, especially with the bat, could be a weakness over a long season

Sreshth Shah20-Mar-2022

Potential first XI

1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Jason Holder, 8 K Gowtham, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Dushmantha Chameera

Availability

Signed for INR 7.5 crore at the auction, England quick Mark Wood has been ruled out of the entire season with an elbow injury sustained in the West Indies. The team has named the Australian slower-ball specialist Andrew Tye as his replacement. Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers are also expected to be available only after the first week of the IPL due to their respective national commitments.

Batting

Quinton de Kock can be aggressive in the powerplay and can play the long innings too. But whether KL Rahul chooses to anchor or go all-out is the big question.Related

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With Manish Pandey, who has gone a strike rate of 127.52 in the last three IPL seasons, likely to slot in at No. 3, Rahul could possibly be the second powerplay attacker alongside de Kock, leaving Pandey to hold one end up if an early wicket falls.In Stoinis and Deepak Hooda, Lucknow Super Giants have players who can attack from ball one, and a left-hand option in Krunal Pandya along with Holder to cap off the batting order gives Super Giants the flexibility to exploit any available match-up. A deep line-up could also allow the likes of Rahul and Pandey to go harder at the top than they did at their earlier franchises, which both suffered from a lack of depth.As the season progresses, and depending on how the team balances out, Stoinis could also open the batting – as he did with Delhi Capitals as a one-off, and has regularly done with Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League.But that’s about it for the batting. Beyond the first-choice players, Super Giants lack solid back-up options other than Evin Lewis. He could be a like-for-like switch for de Kock since Rahul can keep wickets. The other choices are Mayers, who has T20 strike rate of 116 and is an unknown IPL quantity, and Manan Vohra, who generally bats at top of the order, an area where Super Giants are well-stocked.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Bowling

Super Giants’ bowling options might make other teams envious. They have eight bowlers in their potential first XI. Avesh Khan and Dushmantha Chameera bring pace, Holder offers control and poses problems with his high release point, Stoinis bowls cutters that can be useful at the death, and there is a smorgasbord of spin options with wristspinner Ravi Bishnoi, offspinner K Gowtham, left-arm spinner Krunal and the part-time offbreaks of Hooda.Beyond the first XI, Indian quick Ankit Rajpoot is a like-for-like replacement for the Sri Lankan Chameera, in case Super Giants want to bring in an extra overseas batter like Lewis or Mayers. Tye’s pace variations, meanwhile, make him a useful option on slower pitches.Shahbaz Nadeem is another experienced left-arm spin option, while left-arm seamer Mohsin Khan from Uttar Pradesh, who has spent considerable time with Mumbai Indians, could offer something different. He has an impressive average of 19.33 and an economy rate of 7.08 in 26 T20 games.Ravi Bishnoi, who has now made his India debut, was the emerging player of the tournament in IPL 2020•BCCI

Young player to watch out for

At 21, wristspinner Bishnoi is the most exciting young prospect in the team, and one who has a realistic chance of being a regular in the XI. He was given a massive boost of confidence after being retained pre-auction for INR 4 crore, and is now part of India’s T20I squad too, and won the Player-of-the-Match award on international debut.Last season, he went for 25 runs or fewer – in four-over spells – in six of his seven outings for Punjab Kings, and his quick-arm mix of predominantly googlies with the odd legbreak thrown in makes him hard to put away. He attacks the right-handers’ stumps, and uses his wrong’un to make left-handers reach for the ball and take the leg side out of the equation.Bishnoi was the emerging player of the tournament in IPL 2020, his first season, and is a livewire on the field.

Coaching staff

Andy Flower (head coach), Vijay Dahiya (assistant coach), Gautam Gambhir (mentor) and Andy Bichel (bowling coach)

Poll